V.
HOW SOCIETY IS ORGANIZED
Characteristics of Groups
1. The members interact with each other over some period of
time. They communicate through words, gestures, writing, or
music and in so doing, affect and influence each other’s
behaviour.
2. Each member identifies with the group and is recognized
as part of the group by other members. There is in the mind
of the members the idea that they are somehow distinct
from other groups.
3. Each member of the group is expected by others to accept
certain responsibilities and duties (roles) and to abide by
certain norms. Each is also entitled to certain privileges as a
result of membership.
4. There is specialization (roles) in the activities carried out by
the members of the group. Some lead, others follow. Some
cook, others provide food. Some teach, others learn.
*Statistical Group – formed not by the group members but
by sociologists and statisticians (i.e.: 48,098,460 population);
some sociologists do not consider this a group at all because
members are unaware of their membership and there is no
social interaction or social organization
*Categorical Group – or societal units, one in which a
number of people share common characteristics
(millionaires, senior citizens, etc.)
*Aggregate – any collection of people who are together in
one place; are basically unstructured and the participants
interact briefly and sporadically
*Associational/Organizational Group – important in some
complex industrialized societies; they are the group of people
who join together in some organized way to pursue a
common interest and have a formal structure (The Rotary
Club, the Liberal Party)
The Primary Groups
 introduced by Charles Cooley
 the intimate, personal type of group
 these are the people with whom we enjoy the more
intimate, close and constant kinds of social
relationship
 the group with which the people interact with the
earliest and exerts the most influence
 people interact with it over a long period of time
Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
 referred as “the nursery of human nature” by Cooley
The Secondary Group
 characterized by impersonal, business-like,
contractual, formal and casual relationships
 less intimate, less personal, less inclusive than the
primary group
 secondary groups are large in size, physically and
spatially distant
 emotions and feelings are buried beneath the role
segment which dominates the formal interaction
within the system
 in urban industrial setting, people usually interact
with others they do not like and just do because
they need them or they have certain responsibilities
towards them
Self-identification within groups
1. In-group
 group to which an individual identifies himself and
gives him a sense of belongingness
 may be as small as family or large as the world
 it is where an individual learns the pronoun “my”
and “we”
 characterized by solidarity, camaraderie, esprit de
corps, and a protective and sympathetic attitude
toward the other members
 members are loyal to each other and may accept
responsibilities for other members
 they know each other personally and intimately and
enjoy common activities
 implies deep attachment
 when the “we feeling” becomes excessive,
ethnocentrism may occur but has advantages:
contributes to group loyalty and therefore promotes
group solidarity; promotes conformity and therefore
becomes a form of social control; promotes
nationalism
 when ethnocentrism is excessive and compulsive,
develops into chawainism and may result in a
conflict between tribes, nations and people; cause
national disunity with regional groups becoming
more loyal to own ethnic tribes than the nation
itself; war
2. Out-group
 a group in which we do not participate
 a group in which one has the feeling of
indifference, strangeness, avoidance, dislike,
antagonism and even hatred
Ms. Audrey Roxan S. Tura, RPm, LPT Page 1
3. Reference Group
 group with which an individual refers and identifies
himself either consciously or unconsciously
 the central aspect is identification, rather than
actual membership
Informal Groups
 arise spontaneously by virtue of interaction of two
or more individuals, resulting in the formation of
cliques, friendship groups or gangs
 emergence of this group is definitely unplanned and
has no definite rules for membership
 members are usually bound by emotions and
sentiments
Formal Groups
 officially prescribe and allocate tasks, privileges and
responsibilities, thereby specifying how the activity
of a group is to be carried out
 social relations between members proceed in
accordance with the statuses they occupy
Small Groups
 the smallest group: dyad, consisting of only 2
members
 when members become 3, it is called triad
1. As size increases, so does the division of labor
If a group is small, all members may engage in the same
activities. But as its size increases, activities become
specialized
2. As size increases, its structure becomes more rigid
and formal
In small groups, they are likely to operate informally,
according to unwritten rules, while large groups usually
conduct meetings according to Rules of Order.
3. As the size increases, so does the need for a more
formal type of leadership
With increasing complexity, problems arise relating to
activities and decisions. Persons who have the authority
or potential ability to direct or influence people’s
behaviour may emerge. When the population of these
groups bestows the right to leadership, authority exists.
Authority is legitimized power.
4. As size increases, the communication pattern changes
In a small group, most members will participate and
communication exchange may take place among the
Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
members. In large groups, the leaders dominate the
discussions, they talk the most and are addressed the
most.
5. As size increases, cohesion decreases
A group is considered cohesive when members interact
frequently. Membership stability is important for cohesion
because a higher turnover rate has a negative effect.
Conformity is also important for cohesion because failure to
abide by group norms and decisions lessens cohesion.
Importance of Groups
1. The group as transmitter of culture. All our lives, we grow
and develop by means of the stimulating interchange and
interrelation involved in being a member of a social group.
2. The group as means of social control. Social control is also
the process which induces persons to comply with the
collective standards of action or belief, even when alternative
patterns are available. Social control includes the means by
which the group influences the individual to conform to the
norms of the group and the rules imposed by the authority.
The group does not only shape and mould the behaviour of
its individual members, it also restrains and disciplines the
individual by exerting a strong pressure on his activities. The
individual may differ in his beliefs and actions, but if he
wishes to avoid group disapproval and be accepted by his
fellow members, he has to make certain adjustments and
compromises.
(a) He may submit to the mores of the group and suppress his
own desires or stifle his ideas
(b) He may work with the group and change its ideas, in
which case, he may become a reformer or a group leader.
(c) He may change the nature of his group through armed
resistance and be a revolutionist
(d) He may voluntarily leave the group and join another
whose ideas and ideals are more to his liking.
3. The group socializes the individual. It is the group that is
greatly responsible in making an individual become a human
being.
4. Groups as sources of fundamental social ideas
5. The group trains the individual in communication.
Ms. Audrey Roxan S. Tura, RPm, LPT Page 2